1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device for aligning glazing panes during transport on a roller conveyor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Continuously operating bending furnaces for panes of glass or other material, in which the glazing panes pass through a bending chamber where a cylindrical curvature is imparted to them, have a relatively high production capacity. The glazing panes, as they enter the furnace, are laid in closely spaced succession on a roller conveyor, on which they pass at relatively high speed through the bending furnace. In order that the desired cylindrical curvature be given to the glazing panes in the specified direction, these panes must be aligned on the roller conveyor.
In one known aligning device, guide rails are disposed above the conveying rollers on both sides, each at an acute angle to the axis of the roller conveyor, and by sliding contact with the lateral edges of the glazing panes they push them into a central position on the conveying rollers. During the further conveying in the central position, the path of the glazing panes is bounded laterally by two parallel guide rails and, in the conveying direction, by an abutment disposed adjacent to one of these rails. Under the action of this front, lateral abutment and of the drive by the conveying rollers, the glazing pane is rotated into an angular orientation in which one front corner of the glazing pane touches the one lateral guide rail and the opposite, rear corner of the glazing pane touches the other lateral guide rail (U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,920). In this aligning device, the continuous conveying flow of the glazing panes is interrupted by the abutment disposed in the conveying path for the glazing panes.
A device is furthermore known for aligning the glazing panes on a roller conveyor, wherein on each side of the roller conveyor a slider travelling synchronously with the glazing pane is provided, on which plungers movable transversely to the conveying direction are mounted, which are each extended by a predetermined amount during the synchronous movement of the sliders and thus bring the glazing pane into the desired orientation (U.S. Pat. No. 3,992,182). An aligning device of this type is comparatively expensive.
It is furthermore known to arrange, on both sides of a horizontal conveyor, centering rails movable transversely to the conveying direction, which advance one after the other towards the axis of the conveyor and align the glazing pane on the axis of the conveyor (DE-25 31 838 C2).